President Trump to Speak on Health Care Bill – TODAY 3:15 ET

On July 24, at 3:15 pm ET, President Trump is scheduled to give a live statement on healthcare. The statement will follow him participating “in a greeting with victims of Obamacare” according to a White House press release. Last week, the President hosted Republican lawmakers at the White House to try to sway holdouts who have said they could not support the Senate’s health care bill in its current form. President Trump has sent mixed messages to lawmakers and to the public on his vision for health care reform, at times supporting plans to repeal and replace the ACA, a full repeal, or simply “let[ting] Obamacare fail.” He also hosted what was seen by the press as a “victory lap” celebration in the Rose Garden immediately following the passage of the House’s American Health Care Act, a bill that he later called “mean”. 

 

The stakes are high for Senate Republicans to move on health care reform this week, with Leader McConnell still planning a vote despite still not having concrete assurances that he will have the votes to proceed. Whether the President’s statement today will help or hurt the efforts to move the bill to a floor debate remains to be seen.